Fifteen years ago I was born in New York City. In the hospital I slept while my parents and several fatigued doctors watched. My perspective on life at the time of birth was narrow and illiterate, but it was nonetheless joyful. As a matter of fact, one of the tired doctors which comforted my mom exclaimed, “This is one of the happiest babies I have seen in years.” However, this joyfulness which I had experienced slowly grew more unstable as I grew older, along with the new weight of responsibility and conformity. This new stress pressured me to feel less and less infinite day by day, and in turn less joyful. So on a typical Monday in late April, the sweltering temperature seemed to be the highlight of the otherwise dreary day. Until my mother burst into the living room with a massive smile and proclaimed, “The rooms are booked, we are going to Brazil next month.” As a six-year-old, I did not particularly know how to respond to the comment, since I did not know a lot about Brazil. Although what I did know was that it was a country in South America and that they were notoriously good at playing soccer.

Furthermore, I knew that I loved the feeling of going to new places, and discovering new things. So after assessing her comment, a massive smile quickly enveloped my face as well.

Several long nights later and our family was nearly done packing for the trip. So, In the morning, my parents and I headed off to my grandparent's apartment in Brooklyn, in order to give them my dog before the trip. The weather was pretty calm during the day, and the temperature was relatively warm. Though as the day progressed, the weather worsened, and by night time a relentless barrage of lightning and rain had begun. As a matter of fact, the rain and lightning continued even as I fell asleep under the deep cover of night. In an hour, I awoke to the sound of my mom’s voice waking me up. More importantly, my mom was urging me to put on my clothes for the flight. So with a fervor, I put on my clothes and rushed to the door. As I stumbled out of my room, the faint sounds of rain and lightning were still apparent.

At around 2:35 I arrived on the cold, wet plane. It had been nearly a year since I had last flown, and I had dreaded the experience. But what was more frightening to me now was that the barrage of rain hammering away at the weak plane seemed to be increasing. And as we lifted off, the turbulence shook the plane from side to side. I gripped  the palms of my seat as the captain announced, “Hello ladies and gentlemen, please buckle up your seats, we are expecting minor turbulence today, however, we strongly recommend that you stay in your seats at the moment.” As he ended his speech, insane thoughts began to swirl around in my head. Are we going to make it, where are we going to crash, How many hours can the plane take of this? It felt almost as if my brain had no control over my own thoughts. It was at this point, when I recall feeling the most finite I had ever felt in my entire life. In particular, I felt as if I was a tiny ant lost in intergalactic space. Although the feeling eventually subsided, along with the rain and lightning, to this day I still fear airplanes.

We arrived in Brazil at night, when it was hot and humid. After taking our luggage, we drove directly toward the crowded streets of Rio de Janeiro. Once we arrived at our hotel, I dropped into the bed and fell asleep. I had gotten zero rest during the bumpy plane ride, and I desperately needed more. So once I awoke I asked my dad what the plan was for the day. He replied in a nonchalant manner, “We are going hang gliding.” My jaw dropped as I realized the implications of his words, and I was not sure whether I was supposed to feel happy or whether I was supposed to be scared since I was both interested in trying new things and terrified of heights. So for the first few minutes I debated staying at the hotel, but after several minutes of persuasion, I decided to risk it and go with my family to the top of the mountain. After a two-hour ride, we arrived at the top of the steep, grassy cliff. On the beautiful mountain there were several people already attaching themselves to the hang gliders, but of all of them, I was clearly the youngest. First, it was my brother’s turn and then it was mine. Once it was my turn, I was paired with an instructor and sent off to the edge of the cliff. After nearing the edge of the cliff, I looked down at the long drop beneath me. As I stared downward I began to feel scared, and my stomach began turning into a knot. I was now beginning to experience the same intense fear that I had felt on the earlier plane ride. But just as I the thought of quitting appeared in my brain, I closed my eyes and jumped off the magnificent cliff. My fear quickly disappeared as I soared above both the small mountains and the large mountains. Trees looked like tiny dots, and the sea appeared in a magnificent shade of blue. While the salty sea breeze passed by me we glided across the beach. So when I finally landed I understood that while I had been soaring in the sky I had felt infinite. It was official; I had now conquered the skies. In fact, over the course of several minutes I had been able to feel the most infinite I had ever felt in my life, and in turn, I had been able to conquer one of my worst fears. For this reason, I still understand that I have to live life in the moment, in order to get the most out of life, and in turn feel the most infinite I possibly can.We arrived in Brazil at night, when it was hot and humid. After taking our luggage, we drove directly toward the crowded streets of Rio De Janeiro. Once we arrived at our hotel, I dropped into the bed and fell asleep. I had gotten zero rest during the bumpy plane ride, and I desperately needed more. So once I awoke I asked my dad what the plan was for the day. He replied in a nonchalant manner, “We are going hang gliding.” My jaw dropped as I realized the implications of his words, and I was not sure whether I was supposed to feel happy or whether I was supposed to be scared since I was both interested in trying new things and terrified of heights. So for the first few minutes I debated staying at the hotel, but after several minutes of persuasion, I decided to risk it and go with my family to the top of the mountain. After a two hour ride, we arrived at the top of the steep, grassy cliff. On the beautiful mountain there were several people already attaching themselves to the hang gliders, but of all of them, I was clearly the youngest. First, it was my brother’s turn and then it was mine. Once it was my turn, I was paired with an instructor and sent off to the edge of the cliff. After nearing the edge of the cliff, I looked down at the long drop beneath me. As I stared downward I began to feel scared, and my stomach began turning into a knot. I was now beginning to experience the same intense fear that I had felt on the earlier plane ride. But just as I the thought of quitting appeared in my brain, I closed my eyes and jumped off the magnificent cliff. My fear quickly disappeared as I soared above both the small mountains and the large mountains. Trees looked like tiny dots, and the sea appeared in a magnificent shade of blue. While the salty sea breeze passed by me we glided across the beach. So when I finally landed I understood that while I had been soaring in the sky I had felt infinite. It was official, I had now conquered the skies. In fact, over the course of several minutes I had been able to feel the most infinite I had ever felt in my life, and in turn, I had been able to conquer one of my worst fears. For this reason, I still understand that I have to live life in the moment, in order to get the most out of life, and in turn feel the most infinite I possibly can.